Vines & Briars
by Gamerfan411
Summary: No memory, except being human once. Can this young man, finding himself in a strange, new body, figure out why he's been transformed and sent to a world of all pokemon? Can he even remember where he came from, much less return? Yet another story connected to my previous PDM stories. Some violence.
1. Prologue

**_Hello readers, and welcome to Vines & Briars. Like many of previous works, you might find a bit more insight about what's going on in the world of this story if you've read my previous Pokemon stories (Note: Sorry about discontinuing Call of the Sea, I just couldn't find inspiration for that story).  
_**

**_Also, this is offically my first fan-fict involving 5th gen pokemon! Hurray!_**

**_Now for my usual disclaimer: Pokemon belongs to Gamefreak and Nintendo among other companies. My characters are my own original creations but any pokemon they are, are property to the companies that make the games, anime, and all that stuff.  
Sure, they could sue me for copyright, but this is fan-fiction and I doubt it would be worth their time._**

**_Lastly: the cover-art is the creation of All0412 from DeviantArt. A nicely done piece of work._**

**_With that said: I hope you all enjoy!_**

Vines & Briars

Prologue: Entering a New World

"Hello there, you've had a rough time of it lately, haven't you?"

_Huh? Where is this…?_

"Oh, don't mind that. This is the entrance to a different world than the one you're used to… or from for that matter."

_A different world, huh? Sounds interesting… Why can't I seem to remember anything right now?_

"Again, don't mind that. You'll remember when we're done here but you won't remember this little conversation we had. I just need a favor from you and then I might be willing to let you try your old world again, alright?"

_A favor? What favor? And what do you mean anyways by "trying my old world again"?_

"Just a little task. Something I could try and handle myself, but it's sort of a big problem that isn't big enough to warrant my sort of power, if you get what I'm saying. Let's see if you can handle it just as well, hm?"

_Um…_

"That's the spirit! Now then, just a quick few questions for you. No pressure, just answer me honestly on each one, alright? I want to make sure you feel well-suited in this new world you're about to enter."

_Erm… sure… let's hear it. Though I have hardly any idea what's going on…_

"Right! First question: A friend of your takes a spectacular fall. How would you react?"

_Hm. I might chuckle a little over it, but I would lend them a hand getting up. We all fall down sometimes._

"Alright. Next: Do you see yourself as really 'cool'?"

_Sure. I'm a nice guy and all, I'm sure of that much._

"Okay. Say you're sharing a cake with a group of friends and you notice there's a piece leftover afterwards. What would you do?"

_I'd ask if anyone wants it first. If not, I'll help myself to it._

"Say you're in a track-race and you trip at the start and fall on your face. What would you do?"

_Get up and just sprint to catch up. Just 'cause I screwed up at the start is no excuse to quit._

"A friend invites you over for dinner. How would you react?"

_That's nice of them, of course I'd accept. Heck, I'd offer for them to eat over at my place first._

"Alright… now, you're confronted with a complex puzzle. How would you handle it?"

_A puzzle? I'd take my time on something like that and try to solve it carefully._

"Say someone else gets in trouble for something you did. Would you admit to your wrong-doing?"

_Yes. If I did something wrong, I should be the one to be punished for it. Not someone else._

"What if you were faced with a very cruel-looking person, threatening one of your friends? How would you react?"

_I might get hurt, but I'd face them to defend my friends._

"You're tangled up in a lot of string and it's difficult to move. What do you do?"

_I'd try to get myself loose, even if it takes a while._

"Finally: What kind of person is a real friend to you?"

_A real friend? A real friend is someone who helps whenever they're needed. And anytime they can help._

"Alright. That's about all I need to know. Thank you for answering sincerely. You seem… to be the generous type. You're really selfless. You give everything you have to everyone around you and you certainly don't spare the horses on that, do you? As far as you're concerned, what's yours is also your friend's if they need it. Of course, you won't stand up for trickery or misconduct if you see it, but you have to be careful that others don't take advantage of you. You also need to be careful to take care of yourself as well. But in the end, you make lots of friends… because they know they can count on you for support when it's most needed, and that makes you a great friend all around.

"Because you're so generous… You'll be a Snivy!"

_Huh? What-?  
_

"You'll see in due time. You can do this! Now get out there and work hard at it!"


	2. Slick Surprise

Vines & Briars

Chapter 1: Slick Surprise

The young man was first aware of the sound of wind and the feel of fresh air running across his skin.

It felt warm and soothing to him. Why, he wasn't really sure. The last thing he could remember was a lot of white and cold, so the warm breeze definitely felt nice.

Everything else in his memory seemed to be missing. His memory was such a massive blank that it was clear he was forgetting something and there were surely a few important facts among those memories. So it was little wonder he was sure he had forgotten something important.

_What was it? What have I forgotten?_

Digging through his brain for memories, he remembered one thing clearly enough.

_I'm human… I'm sure of that much._

He could vaguely remember hands, legs and wearing clothes. The more he thought about it, the more certain he became that he was human even if he couldn't remember the details.

But there was something wrong. He didn't _feel_ human.

He was alive… he was breathing. He had form. But something about himself just didn't feel right.

_Well… I'm not going to get anywhere if I don't look around._

So he opened his eyes.

Around him were trees. There were all sorts of plant life around him. Short grass, some flowers… but most of all, he seemed to be in some manner of forest as there were a number of trees all around him.

He pushed himself up, off the ground and blinked a little blearily. He felt like he had been asleep for quite a while and so his body was still getting itself into gear.

Reaching up, he wiped one eye to try to wake himself up a bit faster… and then noticed the appendage that he had used to do so.

It wasn't a hand… but a vine. He recoiled a little in surprise and looked at the vine, which froze, staying still.

He followed the vine to his side and from there… he looked over his body.

_This is not a human body… I can't remember much but I __know__ this isn't a human body._

Perhaps he would've panicked more if he had remembered his past more… but he had sensed from the start that something wasn't right, so while the revelation that he wasn't in a human body surprised and shocked him somewhat, it didn't render him lost in horror or alarm.

On the contrary, he oddly found himself rather accepting of what he saw as he looked it over.

_I guess I'm in this body and that's that. Not like I can change myself, right?_

His body was much like a snake's in appearance. He was small, but his body was long and narrow, about two feet in length and a head that was pointed with a protruding nose. His back was a vibrant green, his long smooth belly region a cream color, and he had a tail that sported a fan-like trio of leaves on the end. Though he looked much like a snake, he also had a couple of short, leaf-like arms and a rather stubby set of legs that seemed to serve more as hands and feet respectively. His shoulders were accented by a slender, gold-colored leaf on each side that was rather like the collar-tailings on a high-class suit.

He definitely was not human.

_Still… I know I was human once… so how did I end up like this?_

The former human tried to get up and spent several moments finding his balance on his short limbs. He seemed to be alone so there wasn't any need to hurry the process. Pushing himself up certainly wasn't any trouble as vines sprouted from the area around his "hands" and seemed to reach out a fairly good distance. They obeyed him much like any hand or arm.

Eventually, he managed to find a standing position where he wasn't about to fall forward or to either side. He could stand without using the vines like kickstands on a bike.

_Alright, that's one challenge down._ He couldn't help a small chuckle at the fact that he had had a tricky time just standing under his own power.

_Now… can I walk? Or… do I move some other way?_

He leaned forward as he tried taking a step forward with his short legs and ended up falling on his stomach as he leaned too far forward and the front of his body fell down.

_Urf… nope._

He used the vines to push himself up and rediscover his center of balance before reattempting to walk.

With legs that seemed to be centimeters in length, walking proved to be an even more difficult task than remaining in a standing position. If he didn't fall on his face or stomach, then he fell sideways and had to roll onto his stomach and push himself up again from there.

After getting up again for the fifth time or so, the boy was starting to feel embarrassed.

_Can't even walk… sheesh. How am I supposed to survive very long at all like this? Even if nothing attacks I can't even really move._

A few more attempts at walking, and he finally managed to move forward without falling over in any direction, giving him a sense of accomplishment, even for such a minor action. Then again, it seemed that moving in this body required a lot of thought. Not only did he have to step forward with his feet as short as they were, but also use the tail he had to balance himself and position his body as well with the step.

Then there was the matter of turning. A slightly exasperated groan escaped him as he contemplated the difficulty of _that_, given how much trouble he had had just walking. He knew he would get nowhere fast though if he only went in straight lines.

So he proceeded to practice turning on top of walking around more. Once he had gotten walking down enough that he wasn't falling down, the action became much easier. Turning was a tricky affair but he avoided falling down this time and soon figured out the key aspects of that action as well. He spent a minute or two more walking around the clearing he was in, letting his mind memorize the rhythm and pattern of movement. By the time he finally felt like he could walk without thinking about it too hard, he couldn't help noticing that the movement of his feet was so minute and smooth that he looked rather like he was slithering along through the grass, not walking.

_I guess this body really is rather like a snake's despite the limbs…_

At this point, the boy finally gave consideration to the question of where he was. His mind drew one enormous blank at that though. He wasn't any closer to an answer as to how he'd ended up as this snake either. There wasn't anything to that looked like it could transform someone. Just trees and grass.

He looked himself over once more, wondering what he was exactly anyways. He tried to dig through his mind for an answer, hoping one would arise like how he had remembered he was human, but nothing arose except one word: Pokemon.

He got the impression that that name was a little more general though. He seemed to remember applying that name to many different creatures.

_I guess just one of many? Argh… wish I could remember…_

He grimaced but decided to put the thoughts aside for the time being. He couldn't remember anything else specific yet.

_I'll probably remember in due time, just need to keep it in the back of my mind at least._

The questions set aside for now, he focused on what he was going to do right now. He needed to figure out what manner of forest this place was. Was there a settlement somewhere nearby? Humans? More creatures like what he was now?

_Well, I'm only going to figure this out if I go out into this forest and look around._

So he set out.

-0-

The forest was a quiet location. He walked past countless trees, the sun obscured by the branches overhead and while he searched for somewhere specific to go, he saw nothing.

Trees, flowers, more trees… endless rows of trees.

Perhaps what was more disturbing though was that there wasn't anything around. There didn't appear to be any other creatures around except for himself. That alone was simply unnatural and as he realized how alone he was, it sent a chill running through his body.

_Easy… I'm probably just in an uninhabited area. There's _some_one or something in these woods somewhere. There has to be._

The former human continued silently forward, searching for anyone to talk to or at least observe but as he continued to see nothing but trees, he started to worry again.

_Lost already? Try following the sun._

The voice in his head wasn't his own, so he was suitably shocked when it came out of nowhere.

"Who's there!?" he yelled at thin-air. No one responded though, in his mind or aloud.

_Follow the sun?_

He looked up and could only see the sunlight shining through the trees.

_Well, how am I supposed to follow the sun if I can't see where it is?_

Looking again though, he realized he could see the tree shadows at least and the light was enough for him to make out the direction of the shadows. By logic, the sun was in the opposite direction the shadows went.

He then put his own shadow behind him, and proceeded in the direction he was facing.

After a few minutes of walking though, nothing had changed about the forest around the human-turned-pokemon. He checked his shadow and blinked, quite surprised when he found his shadow was not behind him, but to his side now.

_I haven't been walking that long, have I?_

He shrugged this off though and turned so his shadow was behind him once more.

It wasn't long after he started in the new direction, he checked his shadow once more just to be sure and was astonished to find it had somehow moved in front of him.

_Something's not right here._

It was as if the sun had shifted position very quickly overhead so it was somehow behind him now.

Feeling a touch frustrated with the unnatural behavior of his shadow, he turned around entirely and made sure the shadow was behind him, then he tried to proceed forward while watching his shadow behind him the best he could, to make sure it didn't move around him again without him noticing.

Naturally, he ran into a tree.

_Ow… what the heck is up with this forest if the position of the sun can shift like that in a blink?_ He thought as he rubbed the side of his head that had hit the tree and got up.

Stepping around the tree, he continued onward, now attempting to watch the position of his shadow and where he was going. He managed to avoid running into another tree but as he passed through the shadow of one tree, he looked at his shadow and found at it his side once more, whereas it had been properly behind a second ago.

The boy didn't bother any further with trying to solve the mystery of the forest. All he knew, was that the suggestion to follow the sun had been implanted in his mind, he had no other ideas, and so that was what he would do. Even if his shadow insisted on moving around him when he couldn't see it.

He turned so it was behind him yet again and proceeded in the direction the sun was in.

The tricky affair of watching his shadow as he walked through the forest continued for a space of time which he had no way of measuring. He might've been there a few hours… or it might've been a few minutes.

But a break finally appeared in the trees and he looked up to be faced with the sun shining down on him, unconcealed by tree branches overhead. The warmth seemed to energize him and he felt a sense of freedom.

However, life decided to become considerably more chaotic right then.

Out of the trees, dropped several things that looked like over-sized acorns with feet. Behind them, followed a trio of creatures that looked rather humanoid but distinctly like they were made of wood with stocky legs. They had a single leaf growing from their heads and very pointed noses.

"Halt, trespasser! These aren't called Shiftry Woods for nothing, y'know! No one comes through here without paying their respects to the Boss!" one of the three wood-men said in a fairly arrogant and commanding tone.

"_That's right!_" the acorn-like creatures chimed in together afterwards. It was rather apparent they had practiced this entire display and for the lone boy, if it hadn't been quite so intimidating, it might've been cute.

"W-wait? Shiftry? Who's this boss you're talking about?" the former human stammered, finding himself rather unsettled by the concept of creatures clearly not human speaking English.

_Wait, but I'm not human anymore, so how can I speak then?_

He didn't really have the time to think about that though.

"Silence! You'll come along _now_ and you'll pay your respects! _Now_!" the wood-man said, quite insistently. This was followed by a chime of "_Pay your respects_!" by the acorns.

Thoroughly confused, there wasn't anything he could think to do but surrender to this group and come quietly. He wasn't sure why he needed to pay anyone any respects but he was sorely outnumbered and he had little to no idea of anything about himself, much less his surroundings.

_Maybe someone can tell me something more about where I am._

This band didn't seem like a group who would tell him anything. But that was the least of his concerns anyways.

Two of the wood-men stepped forward and grabbed him with more force than absolutely necessary. One grabbed him by the neck (thankfully, he could still breathe) and the other grabbed his tail and they lifted him from the ground.

The group then proceeded to carry him off, ignoring his yelps of pain and discomfort.


	3. What is in a Name?

Vines & Briars

Chapter 2: What is in a Name?

After about an hour of being man-handled and carried along, his head forced to keep facing the sky, the former human was finally brought into a cave, and then thrown into a chamber. He bounced and tumbled across the ground.

He got about five seconds to look around and perceive that it was a prison cell (plain, solid rock walls, a single solid-looking door in) before his captors left and shut the door behind them.

_Ugh, what was that all about?_

He got up, shaking himself down. His entire body was fairly sore from both the rough treatment from the wood-men and the hard landing in the chamber. There was only a simple window in the door that let in a sparse amount of light from outside. He judged from the way it flickered that it was torch-light.

_Alright, they called that forest I came out of "Shiftry Woods"… but where is __this__ place?_

Looking around was pointless as even if there was anything to see, the light wouldn't have been enough to examine anything in detail.

_They never told me who their "boss" is either. They want me to pay respects to someone I don't even know?_

All the circumstances of his situation were confusing for the human-turned-pokemon. He didn't have even a remote idea of where he exactly was. He didn't know who he himself was. He didn't know _what_ he was. And he did not know why he was here exactly, nor how he had ended up in that forest.

As uncomfortable as it was, he had little choice but to just lie down on the cool rock floor, rest… and wait.

_I'm getting so many questions, and no answers._

-0-

Some time later (he had no way to track the time) the cell door finally opened again and two of the wood-men from before came marching in and seized him.

"Oi, there's no need to grab me!" the former human protested. They ignored this though and shoved him along, out the door and forced him to march along with them down a hall. When he staggered as a result of the forced pace, they almost picked him up like they had previously but he quickly got himself to his feet and just got back to walking, though they decided after that to grip him by the back of the neck.

_Geez, I can walk just fine if they wouldn't force me to go at their pace. It took me plenty of time just to learn how to walk normally. This is even faster though and I don't even know where we're going._

They eventually came into a long, hall-like chamber that was very well lit with torch-stands. It looked like a rock-hewn hallway from a palace, only less decorated and slightly less impressive. There were vines growing over some of the walls.

Most noticeable though, was the seat in the back, like a throne where the king would sit were the cave a palace.

There was indeed, someone seated there, though it was yet another creature that he could not identify.

Like the individuals escorting him along, this fellow seemed to be made of wood. _Un_like his fellows though, he was considerably bigger, being almost twice the boy's own size. He lacked hands, instead having a fan-like trio of leaves like the human's new tail on each short arm. His feet were odd as they were flat with a single tablet-like protrusion under each one. To the boy, it looked like just standing would be more of a balancing act than what he had been dealing with in his own snake-like body.

_Well, I guess I can be grateful I'm not him._

His eyes finally moved to the seated individual's face. His head was completely covered in an extremely long mane of white hair that went down his back and he was even sitting on it. He had a pair of tall, pointed ears and a nose that was even longer and pointier than that of the other wood-men. Both stuck out of the mane of hair.

Finally… he made actual eye-contact with him… and the former human became a little uneasy. Those large yellow eyes did not display any pleasure at seeing him.

The other two marched him up to the one seated and each made an odd gesture that one could only assume was some show of obeisance to him.

"Shiftry, m'lord, we found this trespasser leaving your lands. What shall we do with this scum?"

Shiftry (as that was apparently his name), grunted once with a nod… and then proceeded to say something in a language that the boy could not understand at all.

_What is he saying exactly? It sounds like gibberish to me._

"Hey! Lord Shiftry wants to know your name. Answer him!" the wood-man told the boy, much more harshly than absolutely needed.

"I don't know." He answered, more to the wood-man than Shiftry.

Shiftry barked something else in that odd language.

"Don't try lying to Lord Shiftry. Tell him your name!" the wood-man insisted. For the human, this just irritated him, despite his position.

"I _told_ you: **I don't know!** I can't remember! So there's no point demanding I tell you, you pointy-nosed idiot!"

Later, the former human would admit that he had overreacted. Calling Shiftry an idiot had been completely uncalled for. However, it got quite a rise out of Shiftry.

"Why you! Who you calling an idi-" Shiftry started to yell at him, in perfectly understandable English then cut himself off with an alarmed "Oop!"

Shiftry quickly switched back into yelling in that odd language from before, using the same outrage as before. However, the way he was saying it hurriedly tipped the boy off.

The wood-man started to translate but he cut his captor off.

"You can speak directly to me just fine, can't you?"

Shiftry clearly scoffed at this accusation and spoke again in the unintelligible language but as the wood-man behind him started to translate, the human could tell that the translator was panicked a bit and just throwing it together. He only had a rough idea of what to say. The former human was no longer impressed, nor intimidated by any of this.

_No wonder it sounded like gibberish to me. It __is__ gibberish. Complete nonsense. This is all an act!_

"I'm not a moron, idiot. Now stop trying to intimidate me and tell me: where am I?"

Shiftry's face (what little could be seen) turned a mild red as his temper started to get the better of him. The next moment, the former human was knocked through the air by a blast of wind.

_Ow… I forgot… it may be an act, but I'm not exactly in a position to be calling him an idiot freely, now am I?_

Shiftry got to his feet and walked to up to him, his odd feet making a distinctive clack of wood on stone with each step.

"Alright, so you saw through the whole little show, runt. But doesn't mean you can just ignore my question. What. Is. Your. Name? I wanna make sure everyone where you're from knows better than to try and take over my domain." Shifty said in coarse tones.

_Why can't he get into his head that I don't know? I've already told him twice now._

"I don't know. I don't remember anything. I can't remember who I am, or where I'm from." He answered a third time, keeping himself calm this time around, "Heck, I don't even know _what I am_." He added, looking up at Shiftry.

Shiftry blinked, looking genuinely surprised and then burst out laughing.

"You don't know what you are? Oh ho ho ho ho! That's a good one! A pokemon that doesn't even know what it is!" then he stopped laughing and scowled at him, "Enough of trying play me for a fool. What is your name?!"

"I haven't lied. Perhaps you could tell me what I am though." He responded bluntly, "It might help clear up one or two things for me. Actually, it might even help me remember my name."

Shiftry rolled his great yellow eyes in mild exasperation.

"Maybe I should send you out to sea in a tornado…" he muttered as he stepped around the former human, who was getting to his feet again. He finally turned though.

"But alright, I'll play your little game then. What are you, you ask?" Shiftry said, though his attempts to be intimidating as he said this were rather obvious. As a result, he only came off to the human as ridiculous for trying.

Shiftry looked him over and blinked… and looked some more, clearly looking more closely this time. It didn't take the former human long to deduce the truth:

"…You don't know what I am either, do you?" he said to Shiftry drily. Shiftry's puzzled and aggravated expression was all the answer he needed.

_He __is__ an idiot. I knew it._

"I know what you are, you conceited snake! I just can't remember out of all the pokemon I've had executed! Give me a second here." Shiftry said, making useless excuses.

"Just like every bully I've ever met…" the human muttered "An idiot."

Then he realized what he had said.

_Wait a minute… bully?_

A memory had sparked. It was faint but the memory was most assuredly there. Memory from being human.

Someone standing before him, trying to intimidate him, much like this pokemon before him now.

"_And who do you think you are? Big Man in the halls?"_

He could remember confronting bullies… and… something else…

"_You'd better just buzz off Rick-"_

_That's it!_

The rest of the memory was interrupted as he remembered the one piece of information he had been trying recall all this time.

_My name's Rick!_

His elation at rediscovering his own name was cut-off though by Shiftry.

"Rrrrrrr… didn't I already tell you? You don't. Call me. **An idiot!**" Shiftry bellowed and then whirled violently, his leaf-fans stretched out to either side.

They kicked up an immense gale that lifted Rick off the ground.

Rick screamed as he was rendered helpless in mid-air. He barely could see Shiftry's underlings hiding from the gale as it proceeded to spin him in circles.

"Idiot. Idiot. Idiot! Is that all you can call me, you smug little twerp!?" Shiftry raged as he used his fans to move the tornado holding Rick outside the cave.

"Well, let's see who's the _real_ idiot here when you drown out at** sea!**" the grass-type roared and, with one violent swing of his fans, he propelled the tornado out over water.

Everything was a blur to Rick from within the whirlwind, from the sand, to the rock cave, to the water beyond, but soon practically the only thing he could really see was blue, from the water and the sky.

_I can't remember if I ever learned to swim. __Can__ I even swim in a body like this!?_

Rick had serious doubts he could swim, even if he had ever known how as a human. Not only was his present body poorly suited to the task… but the tornado was spinning him around so much the vertigo would've rendered anyone unable to swim for several minutes out of sheer disorientation.

_Me and my big mouth. I just remembered my own name, and now I'm going to drown. Great… just great._

The tornado carried him a considerable distance over the water before it finally started to die out and its hold on Rick was lost. He was pitched out of the twister like a hammer from an Olympic contest.

The only thing he could do was shut his eyes as he fell into the water with a small splash. He made an honest effort to swim, but the currents of the water buffeted him and he was tossed around in the water, as helpless as he had been in the whirlwind. After that, he could remember nothing more.


	4. Memories & Travel

**_Hopefully, I'll be more consistent with how frequently I update now. I'm trying to get back into writing more often, though I have other things to do as well.  
_**

**_Still, I hope you all are enjoying my story so far._**

Vines & Briars

Chapter 3: Memories & Travel

Rick awoke, surprised that he was breathing. He was on his back, sprawled out on solid ground… and most definitely alive.

_Given that swim Shiftry forcibly sent me on, it's gotta be a bit of a miracle that I did survive._

It startled him when someone in his head responded.

"_Yep. A miracle indeed. I guess sending you there was a little hasty on my part and you need a little more time. Sorry about that. I like your spunk though that you showed before Shiftry. Just what I need for this."_

Rick's eyes snapped open and he looked around.

"Who's there?" he said quickly, but he didn't see anyone.

"_Y'know, you should stop trying to look for me. Not like I'm actually present in the local area. I'm just contacting you. "_ The voice said, _"Anyways, I helped you out this time. But do try to gain some strength, 'cause you're gonna have to return there sometime. And soon, please… if I have to intervene, there could be a mess and no one likes that."_

Rick shook his head.

_Who are you? And why don't you just come talk to me in-person?_

"_Oh there's no need for that. Besides, if you do my little errand for me, we'll meet. Trust me."_

The voice seemed to be a little smug.

_What errand?!_

"_Ask around. I'm sure you'll find out what you need to do." _ The voice said, _"Until then though, I'll leave you figure it out and leave you alone now. You'll have to handle things for yourself from here on out."_

_Wait!_

However, whoever the voice belonged to, some sixth sense told Rick that they had left. He had his mind to himself again.

That conversation having ended, Rick rolled over and looked around at where he was, taking in his surroundings.

It was definitely a new location.

He was of course on a beach, though there was no sign of a forest here, which in Rick's mind already eliminated the possibility of this being the same land he had been on previously.

_Or perhaps I'm still on the same land… just a different area._

He wasn't going to find what the truth though if he didn't go out and explore the area and find out where he was. So, he stood up, took a moment to gain his bearings (and some balance), and then set off across the sand.

He didn't have to go far before the sand of the beach ended and he found himself facing a wall of tall grass.

_I know grass isn't nearly so tall for a human… really makes me wish now that I was human again. Why'd I have to be transformed like this anyways? Couldn't I do this errand as a human?_

His thoughts wandering over the general issue of being stuck as something he originally was not, Rick headed into the grass.

-0-

It didn't take long for Rick to get lost in the tall grass. He might as well have been walking through a corn-maze for all he could see or navigate through. He was too small to push through the denser grass and so he was forced to take whatever route he could find that was unbarred by the tall reeds.

He wasn't particularly surprised when he came across another pokemon. A simple, purple-colored rat. He felt like he knew the species but any memory about the species didn't want to come back to him.

Before he could even consider asking the rodent-pokemon about where he was exactly, the rat charged at him and struck with a very swift attack which knocked Rick clean off his feet.

_Ow! Are all pokemon this aggressive against other pokemon in the wild?! How do pokemon survive if they're like this to each other?_

He got up and moved just in time to avoid another attempt by the rat to attack him.

"Alright. Enough." Rick growled, now fed up with other pokemon bullying him and pushing him around. Reacting on somewhat human instincts, he lashed out at the rat, literally. Had he been human, he would've been aiming a punch at his target. As he was though, there was instead a sharp _snap_ as the vine serving as his hand and arm whipped out and slapped the Rattata hard.

The blow knocked the rat away but it persisted, attempting to get close and bite him.

"Erg! Go away!" Rick yelled and, after back-stepping to avoid those teeth, he threw himself forward in a tackle. His attacker was smashed under the blow and struggled with consciousness for a few seconds before passing out.

Taking a minute to dust himself off, the former human regarded the rodent.

_I don't think pokemon usually attack each other without reason… not like this. At least, if what I think I remember is right._

His memory on the matter was still very foggy at best, most of it still lost somewhere in his head. But, he was certain in some corner of his mind that pokemon weren't normally so hostile to each other.

_But why? What did I do to this… rat to warrant getting attacked? Or if it wasn't me, then what made it so aggressive to just attack me?_

Puzzled on the matter, Rick continued onwards through the grass field, thinking it over as he attempted to continue navigating forward.

-0-

The Rattata was the first grass-land resident to attack Rick, but it certainly wasn't the last. As he encountered more pokemon in the field, none of them seemed willing to even start talking with Rick. First thing any of them did was attack him and he was forced to either retreat or fight back.

By the time he had gotten deep into the field, Rick was sure, even if he couldn't remember anything about them clearly, that pokemon generally got along better than this. He was sure any group of intelligent creatures, human or not, would be more cooperative with one another than the ones he was meeting out here.

_I'm just passing through. Can't they just leave me alone at least if they're not gonna give me directions or something?_

But this clearly wasn't the case and Rick felt a great deal of relief when the grass finally started to thin out and he could push through it rather than having to navigate through the paths in it.

He stepped out into the open air again and looked around at his new surroundings, including glancing back at the grass he had just emerged from.

_Whew… good riddance to that field. I'll be grateful right now to never return there._

He was sore all over from fighting off attackers half the day and if there had been any doubt before, he couldn't deny now that the vines that had served as his weapons were part of him as they were also stinging. He had whipped a considerable number attacking pokemon using them and now the nerves inside them were feeling frayed and almost numb.

Glancing up at the sky, he took note of the sun's descending position.

_I need to rest... night's approaching._

He proceeded, looking for a suitable location to rest.

After perhaps another hour, at which point the landscape was gradually dyed a deep orange from the setting sun, he finally found a lake and a small rocky hole to take cover in nearby. Though it was rough ground, it was clear enough for him to lie down and feel at least slightly comfortable. He found himself most comfortable in a mildly coiled position on the ground, his head near the fan-like set of leaves on his tail.

_I still have so little idea of where I am… why I'm here in this form… or what really happened to me. Why can't I remember anything about myself… except my name and that I was human?_

He dozed off as night set-in.

-0-

"_Why are you following me around?"_

"_I just want to get to know you. Is there really something wrong with that?"_

"_I… It doesn't matter… I'm not worth your time…"_

"_Wait!-"_

Rick snapped awake and stood up quickly, blurting out the last word that he had been speaking. It took him a minute to realize that the person he had been talking to had entirely been in his dream. He was still alone… he was still some manner of pokemon… unlike in that dream.

His memory was still so blurry that the other person in his dream had seemed to be just a black space… it was like someone had cut their very image out of his mind. He knew they were there… but he couldn't remember their name… their appearance… even their voice had seemed so ambiguous he wasn't sure if they were man or woman. Like talking to a shadow.

_Who was that I was speaking to in that dream? I wanted to get to know them, I guess… but now I can't remember a thing about them. Wish I _could_ remember, maybe I can find them or perhaps they're the one who did this._

A few more minutes of thinking rendered no further information from the dream and daylight was just breaking. Dawn. The rest of the night was such a blur that Rick couldn't clearly remember anything else he had dreamed over the night.

"I'd better just get going." He murmured to himself, stepping out of his shelter and looking around again.

The nearby lake was pristine and clear in the morning light, giving the area a definite beauty that Rick couldn't help admiring. He felt pretty sure he hadn't seen anything quite so full of natural beauty before now.

Despite his waking confusion, he smiled. It was a wonderful sight to wake up to, no doubt about that.

Then his stomach growled.

_Oh… I haven't had anything to eat since… well, since I woke up._

He didn't know (and couldn't remember from his human life) the fact that, due to being half-plant at least, his body was naturally photosynthesizing the sunlight it collected, cutting down his need to eat. Though it wouldn't keep hunger away permanently.

It seemed hunger was catching up to him now. He looked around the local area and spotted nothing that looked edible to him. Hoping to find something on his way, Rick proceeded to the left following the lake's edge.

Eventually, he found something that appealed to him. It was a small, round berry, blue in color and looking fairly hard.

Picking it up, some corner of his mind echoed a word: _Oran_.

The only explanation for this was that it was some minor piece of his memory coming back to him. The vague memory reminded him that this berry was perfectly safe to eat, and so he popped it in his mouth.

The taste was mixed and mild and when he swallowed, Rick felt considerably better overall.

_Well, that's handles that. Now… I guess I'll just keep going._

Looking around the local area, Rick noticed a forest over to his left. After his last experience with a forest, Rick had no desire to go into another one so soon… and looking ahead, it looked like the lake was going to lead to yet another forest. It actually astonished Rick that he could see the second forest from so far away. He was sure it was much further away than the one on his left and yet it seemed no less visible.

There was a gap in between the forests though. What appeared to be a valley between them; a veritable crevice in the ground.

_Well, I'd prefer to go between the forests than through them so…_

Rick headed for the gap in the forests, planning on passing through and exploring further.

As he got closer, the ground started to sink inwards and the boy realized he was heading into a ravine that divided the forests from each other. The ground was fairly dry so he judged that it was unlikely he would encounter any trouble with water flooding the ravine and possibly drowning him.

Still… something about the ravine was making him uneasy.

_I doubt I'll get anywhere though if go into one of the forests and the lake looks like it just leads right to that other forest._

The forests lined the edges of the ravine, so there was no going around them or the ravine. He would have to go directly through the ravine. He couldn't help noticing the forest further away had abnormally large trees. The trees would've dwarfed any human. It certainly explained why the forest had been so visible from afar. He turned his attention back to the path before him though.

"Here goes nothing…" He said to no one but himself and proceeded into the ravine.

-0-

The ravine was easier navigating than the grass-land had been. He could see what laid ahead clearly and his course was just as clear. There would be no taking short-cuts here though. If he had had the will of force to do so, he likely could've pushed his way through the grass. In the ravine, his walls were of solid rock.

_No trouble. At least the air's a bit more open in this place._

Having open exposure to the sunlight also filled Rick with an instinctive comfort.

As he proceeded deeper into the ravine though, the sun was starting to feel a little warm and he found himself dealing with more creatures… more pokemon. Nonetheless, the extra sunlight energized him and he fought back with that extra energy.

Many of the ravine's residents seemed to be made from the rocks themselves, some dropping right off the sides of the ravine walls and rolling into his path. Most looked like rocks with a face and arms.

Fortunately for Rick, it seemed that his whip-like vines were their bane. As they attempted to stand in his path, he would lash them with his vines and though they were made of rock, the strikes hit and dealt punishing harm to them, prompting them to retreat and keep out of his way.

_I could get used to fighting like this…_

He continued on his way, feeling quite confident in himself as he proceeded on through the ravine. He even found more berries as he continued and ate them as they came, keeping himself feeling invigorated and vital.

He was passing through what looked to be roughly the mid-point of the ravine when something completely different occurred.

He was climbing over a rock in his way to continue onwards when two pokemon he hadn't seen before came around a turn in the path and reacted to him with alarm. Rick vaguely recognized the puzzlement in their expressions; they didn't know what he was.

One looked like a black mouse with a cream-colored underbelly. The other… well, Rick wasn't sure what to make of it but he didn't get a good look at it before the mouse said something to his companion and advanced on Rick.

Before Rick could do more than blink, the mouse inhaled and spat a small, hot ball of fire at him.

Even before the fire touched him, Rick's heart seemed to jump in terror upon seeing it. When it _did_ come in contact with his skin, bursting across him, Rick felt nothing short of purest agony. He knew fire would hurt for any living creature (except apparently this mouse, which breathed it) but to him, this pain went beyond the mere standard. It was amplified twice over from normal. He screamed.

Quickly dropping down, he rolled on the ground, trying to smother the fire in the dirt before it could try to engulf his flammable body.

The mouse that had spit the fire at him inhaled again, preparing to torch him further.

"No! Don't! Please!" Rick yelled quickly, pleading. He was in no position to stop his attacker and even if he had been in a position to fight back, he doubted he could confront anything that wielded fire like this.

"Wait-!" the other pokemon started to yell as well, but its companion was already exhaling and more fire billowed forth to incinerate Rick, who screamed again and tried his best to shield himself from the blaze coming at him.

"I said wait!" the other pokemon yelled again.

Rick collapsed on the ground, his body searing with agony as the fire ate away at his leaves and skin.

Then someone's hands (or rather paws) started patting Rick down and the flames were stifled before they could do further harm.

Nonetheless, the damage was done and Rick felt not only terrified by the fire that had hit him, but very weak now as it had sapped his strength.

The pokemon that he had just encountered were saying something, but weakness was making their words blur in his ears and… helpless to do anything, Rick passed out.


	5. Questions & Problems

**_Time for a couple of familiar faces. I think I've got everything planned out from here. But you never know.  
_**

**_Enjoy!_**

Vines & Briars

Chapter 4: Questions & Problems

Rick awoke from unconsciousness for the third time in so many days. He was on cool ground and he could hear the gentle crackle of fire.

The sound registered in his brain more than anything and his eyes quickly snapped open and he looked around, alarmed and a little frantic as he looked for the fire as he had no desire to re-experience the same pain that had rendered him unconscious.

The source was a simple campfire, which he had been laid out a comfortable distance from. Close enough to enjoy the warmth, far enough away that he wasn't at-risk of combusting. Obviously someone had set-up the fire so Rick looked around for signs of anyone else present, his heart racing with mild panic.

His eyes fell on the black mouse from before, simply resting on the ground near the fire (closer than normal for most). Naturally, Rick's most recent memories came back to him, prompting him to immediately tense up and get ready to defend himself.

"Whoa, whoa! Easy! Easy, relax!" Someone else spoke up quickly. Rick's eyes darted over to the speaker and he was facing what looked like a dog that was standing on two legs (or rather kneeling).

"_Please,_ relax. We're sorry about attacking you earlier. We won't hurt you now." The pokemon continued, his paws raised in a typical "don't shoot" type of position in front.

Rick's mind was racing and he was anything but calm. It only took a few seconds for him to recognize both pokemon as the last ones he'd seen before falling unconscious, the black mouse from before being the biggest source of his distress.

"Please… please calm down. We don't mean you any harm." The canine continued.

It took a minute, but Rick finally did get ahold of himself and relax a bit. When he was calm enough to look around a bit more closely, he realized that the vines he used for attacks had been raised and ready to lash out. It was little wonder the one trying to calm him down was keeping his distance.

The dog in-question was primarily black and blue in color with a black mask-like design over his golden eyes, giving him an appearance a little like a bandit. Rick's gaze automatically shifted downwards, looking over the rest of the body, which was rather slender in build, yet Rick could see immense strength in the pokemon's muscles. It was likely much stronger than it's thin-frame implied.

Somehow, the memory about this species of pokemon came to Rick and he knew he was looking at a Riolu. Why he could remember that and no other pokemon, he didn't know… but he still couldn't identify the black mouse near the fire, nor himself.

"Alright… you've calmed down, right?" the Riolu continued, speaking calmly and trying to avoid doing anything to alarm Rick again.

"Why'd you attack me?" Rick said tensely. He may have been calmer, but he was still ready to defend himself.

"We've never seen a pokemon like you before and we thought you were going to attack us. It was hasty judgment and an honest mistake on our part. We're sorry, please believe me." the Riolu explained with mild pleading.

_What was it about how I was acting that told them I was going to attack them? Is that why every pokemon I've encountered until now has been attacking me? I've just simply been looking like I'm going to strike first?_

"Just… please relax. We just want to talk now and make sure you're alright. We don't want to hurt you." The Riolu said, his eyes still switching rapidly between Rick's eyes and the vines ready to protect the former human.

_Well, I suppose he's telling the truth, since one of them would've harmed me long since if they had wanted to._

The fact that he was alive and they weren't beating on him now certainly indicated that.

With a little force of will, Rick finally relaxed his guard entirely and the vines retracted into his body. The Riolu breathed out a sigh of relief at this point.

"Alright. My name's Rio. My partner is Quil. What's your name?" he said politely, giving Rick a kind smile.

"My name's Rick… and if you could tell me… where am I?" he responded.

Rio blinked and looked a touch surprised, but Rick wasn't taken aback by his reaction. No doubt he thought Rick was from just somewhere local.

"We're just outside of Denwood Forest right now. We carried you out of Prickle Ravine after knocking you out in there. Again, sorry about that. We acted too fast." Rio explained.

_So these places do have names, but…_

"Alright, that's good to know but what is this… land called?" Rick asked, unsure if he was on an island, a continent, or some other mainland.

"Oh, this is Veil Island. You're not from around here?" Rio asked. Rick shook his head mutely.

_Finally though, some answers._

Rio tilted his head as he looked at Rick… and finally asked,

"Er… what species of pokemon are you anyways? I really never have seen a pokemon like you before, honest."

Rick shrugged in response.

"Your guess is as good as mine. I can't remember much of anything. In fact, I was hoping you might be able to tell me, but I guess neither of you know either." He said, a little glumly.

"You're clearly grass-type though," the black mouse, Quil spoke up, "I hope I didn't scorch you too badly."

Rick glanced down at himself. Rio and Quil had evidently patched him up while he was unconscious as there were some bandages wrapped around his slim body. The burns underneath were uncomfortably warm and thinking on them prompted them to sear slightly with pain, making Rick wince, which the Riolu noticed.

"Er, if those burns are bothering you, why don't you eat some of the Rawst berries I provided?" Rio asked, pointing out a couple of small berries near Rick that looked like shriveled up strawberries.

Picking them up, Rick took up Rio's offer and ate the pair of berries… and almost immediately shuddered at the bitter taste that hit his mouth.

_Bleck… those could've tasted better…_

But soon after eating them, Rick felt the burns cool and they didn't feel quite so bad anymore.

"So uh… can you remember where you're from?" Rio asked. Rick shook his head again.

"Like I said, I don't remember much of anything. I think someone sent me here for some reason… but, I don't know what. I've just been trying to get my bearings for the past few days… and hasn't been easy on me." Rick said.

_It's good to find some pokemon that I can talk with civilly though. Shiftry was so arrogant he thought he was some sort of king in that cave, where ever it was, and all the pokemon I've met since then have attacked me without reason. Come to think of it…_

"Rio… do you know anything about a pokemon calling himself 'Shiftry' on Veil Island somewhere?" Rick asked "I had a run in with someone calling himself that."

Rio considered the question briefly before shaking his head no.

"I've never met anyone by that name. Sorry." Rio answered, then went back to a pensive state. Rick had no way of knowing what he was thinking about, but it looked like Rio was trying to remember something.

_It sounds like I'm not even on the same land as Shiftry was… I might have to cross water to return to that place… whatever the reason I need to return is…_

Quil spoke up, drawing Rick's attention before he could ask Rio what he was thinking about.

"Hey- you said your name is Rick, right? -since you can't remember anything, why don't you come with us to Silver Village? Maybe we can introduce you to the guild and get you set up with somewhere to live."

At first, Rick was tempted to politely turn down the offer… he didn't want to bother anyone with doing that much for him. And given that he had come this far by himself up until he encountered Rio and Quil, it was clear enough he could take care of himself.

_Then again… I had nothing but trouble from my encounter with that guy, Shiftry. I could hardly do anything about him. What if I encounter someone like him again?_

And Quil surely wasn't the only fire-type on the island, though he appeared to be among the friendliest. After one round with hot flames, Rick was pretty sure he would be no match for a less-friendly fire-type.

_It would be nice to have someone to help me… back me up in a troubling situation._ _But first…_

"What's this guild you're talking about?"

"Roserade's Exploration Guild. It's based near Silver Village. All sorts of pokemon work together there and we do various jobs for others around the island. Help them. Those sorts of activities." Quil explained.

_Well, I don't have anywhere else to go… and it wouldn't hurt to at least take a look at this guild. But somehow, I don't think I'll fit in around here. These two don't know what I am… and I've got something I need to do. At the very least though, perhaps someone from that guild could point the way for me: locate where I need to go and help me get there._

This in-mind, Rick looked up at Quil and responded to the offer:

"Yeah, alright. I'll come along. It sounds like an interesting place."

Rio spoke up right about then.

"Before we go anywhere though, let's get some rest. It's dark out as you can see and traveling through the Ravine, and carrying you out of there wasn't easy."

Rick felt he could use a little more rest and so he did not argue with Rio's declaration. He settled himself back down on the ground, half-coiled, and dropped off to sleep again. Rio and Quil were already following suit.

-0-

Morning rolled around and when Rick awoke, Rio and Quil were already up and nearly ready to head out. Rio had a bag strapped over one shoulder and Rick couldn't help noticing a couple of badges on scarves that Rio and Quil were both wearing around their necks. He had failed to notice the badges the previous night in the low light and his waking distress.

When Rick asked about the badges, Rio simply responded:

"These are our exploration team badges. They show we're part of an exploration team."

_Exploration, huh? I guess that likely means these two are a part of that guild they mentioned last night._

Requiring no personal preparation to head out, Rick simply stood up and checked himself over as Rio and Quil finished gearing up to head out. He carefully removed the bandages and found his injuries and burns were mostly gone now.

When preparations were complete, the three of them headed out, Rio leading the way with Quil behind him and Rick following in the back. They were headed, judging from the sun's position, south-west.

In the course of the journey, Rick noticed Rio glancing back at them on occasion presumably to make sure they were keeping up… but the Riolu's eyes seemed to mostly focus on him for some reason.

_He looks… a little like he's trying to remember something. Perhaps I've met him before and I just can't remember myself? But then… when did I meet him? Was it when I was human? I hope if that's the case, we were friends…_

Rick felt he had enough enemies as it was, given all the hostile pokemon he'd beaten on his way and Shiftry at the beginning. When he thought about how many pokemon he had had to fight, it prompted him to ask:

"Is there a reason why I can't seem to go anywhere without other pokemon attacking me?"

Rio glanced back with a glum look.

"Yeah, there have been an unusual number of unfriendly pokemon lately, haven't there? It seems like there are more quarrels in-town too. Just the other day, Munchlax got into an argument with Kangaskhan over something. They've usually been on good terms and get along with one another fine. But… it just seems like something's getting into everyone. It's only 'cause of some of us who break it up first that these disagreements don't get more violent." Rio drifted off from there onto a tangent, mentioning other quarrels that had apparently been happening in the village and how troubled the local conditions were making him.

None of the names Rio mentioned rang any bells with Rick. He was pretty sure he didn't know any of the individuals mentioned on a personal basis.

"It's a troubling state of affair, that's for certain." Quil commented, "Even the guild members have been getting restless lately. I mean… Croc and I usually get along. We have our disagreements, sure, but nothing like the other day. And over something so… pointless." The Quilava looked baffled as well.

The conversation was only making Rick more and more puzzled.

_And this is unusual according to these two… but if I'm supposed to do something about this, then what do I do? Is __this__ the problem that voice was talking about? I can't just change how others think though. And if new quarrels keep arising… it's hopeless trying to stop it by myself._

In the end though, Rick decided he would see these conditions for himself and see if he couldn't mend the problem.

_I just hope that if other pokemon are getting this restless lately, I don't come under attack in the village for it._

Rick pressed on with Rio and Quil, headed for Silver Village.


End file.
